A Glimpse of the
Garden
The following is a paltry attempt to describe the joys of
the first week of marriage. There are plenty of stereotypes floating around about
the honeymoon, some blush-inducing and others cringe worthy. Leading up to both
the wedding and the first week of marriage, a plethora of people unloaded their
past experiences, their warnings, and their harrowing assumptions. I was told
my bride would be crazy, my honeymoon awkward, and my first week harder than
expected. Now that I am past it, I am delighted to say that none of that was
true. Rather, in my first week of marriage, I felt much like Adam in the Garden
of Eden. First, before I go any further, I should say a few things. To the
unmarried, know that I don’t recommend everyone get married. So many people
would be more effective (and a lot happier) glorifying God as a single person
than as a married person. To the engaged, know that I’m excited for you.
Marriage is so much more awesome than that silly engagement period (though it is
a fun time to be enjoyed and savored). To the already married, know that I am a
nuptial noobie. I am very much in The
Honeymoon Stage and I don’t expect my words to be oozing with experience,
but rather, speculation. Regardless, I want to expound upon some incredible
experiences and revelations that came along with first week of marriage.
Let There Be
Preparation
Just as God took a good chunk of time preparing and building
up to the culmination of His creation, Rachel and I took a considerable amount
of time to build the foundation and establish the possibility of our wedding.
We planned, we bargained, we organized, and we called in the big guns AKA our
parents. We were determined to have a great celebration for a Greater God. But
while there were countless weekends poured into making sure our wedding was one
of the most memorable moments of our lives (and it was!), we spent even more
time and effort preparing to have an even more successful marriage. We wanted a great wedding, but an even
better covenant. To do so, we read a shelf of marriage books—almost 20 in
total—and we interrogated anyone with a marriage certificate as to what to
expect and how to prepare.
Looking back, our wedding day (specifically the ceremony)
was one of the most lovely and blessed days of my entire life. Showered in
generosity, moved by the Spirit, and surrounded by God and a community of love,
I was completely awe-stricken and overwhelmed. If you were there, I hope you
felt God’s presence as much as I did. If you weren’t there, I hope you can see
the after-effects in how Rachel and I live our life. God built and built to
finally reach the climax of His creation to ultimately say “It is very good!”
Rachel and I grew and grew to reach the culmination of our commitment to
ultimately say “God is very good!”
The Ultimate Celebration
God labels the end of the world “a wedding” and for good
reason. After experiencing holy matrimony in all its glory, I can now
experience more of Jesus’ joy and anticipation as He waits to finally come and
redeem all things in a wedding ceremony between Himself and His people. When I
proposed to Rachel, I wrote a blog post about
how just as I was excited for my own wedding, I was even more excited for His
wedding. Now that my wedding has come and passed, I can better understand the
joy of the Father, the love of Jesus, and the power of the Spirit unlike ever
before. Rachel and I have become godlier simply for the fact that we have
become two beings in one, just as God is three beings in one. In order to be a
multi-personality being so to speak, each person must give up themselves and
yield for the betterment of the other. I can tell you that when two people are
given to the purpose of serving the other, it makes life a holy dance of joy
and whimsy. But enough with the rhetoric…our first week of marriage was
everything we hoped it to be and more.
A Glimpse of the
Garden
Like I said earlier, I felt like Adam in the Garden in my
first week. For our honeymoon, we flew to tropical Antigua for a week of wedded
bliss. I’d like to think that place of paradise was a faint shadow of Eden in
all its beauty. We were immersed in a land of emerald blue water, sunny island
atmosphere, and friendly locals. We stayed at an “all-inclusive” resort, so
like Adam, food, drink, and activities were all unlimited. Now I don’t know
about you, but when I get to a place where food (GOOD food) is all you care to
eat, I get pretty happy. I mean, my last name is Eaton for cryin’ out loud!
Just like Adam, all of my needs were taken care of in a spectacular fashion and
I was living in paradise.
But the accommodations were just a drop in an ocean of joy
compared to the relational unity I felt with God and with Rachel. Like Adam in
the Garden, there was no distance between me and God, me and Rachel, or Rachel
and God. We were once again caught up in a peaceful unity with our Creator reminiscent
of the world when it was how it is supposed to be. It wasn’t because of where
we were or the fact that we just got married—though that totally helped—but rather,
who we were and who we served. Every morning, every meal, and every night, we
got to talk with our Father and rejoice with Him. I can’t express what it was
like in words so I’m going to stop trying.
Light and Salt
Rachel and I have always prayed at our meals. It’s just our
status quo. We don’t think anything of it. But apparently in Antigua, that’s
not so normal. Whether it was the fact that we were the only American honeymooners
there—we were surrounded by British families—or because we pray a lot, I don’t know.
But many times at our meals, the waitresses would make a comment about how they
have never seen someone pray before a meal. One lovely waitress, Petrola,
stopped us to ask what our religion was. We kindly told her we loved Jesus and
served Him. She smiled and informed us that she and two other ladies who worked
at the resort also served the Lord. So right there in the middle of dinner, we
were just chatting it up about how awesome Jesus is. Throughout the course of our
vacation, we made friends with all of the ladies working there who were
Christians and we got to pray with them and their colleagues. We took our light
to a dark place and shined brightly without even trying. We just love that the
Holy Spirit is always at work guiding and connecting us to others around us.
Life is a crazy adventure when you let God get a hold of it and our honeymoon was
no exception.
Unashamed
Going into the wedding, I wanted to be as in shape and good
looking as possible. I lifted all winter and trained for a half-marathon. I ran
that race with Rachel (who didn’t even train!) and it felt good…minus all the
pain and heaving and hawing as I reached the finish line. Sadly, after the
race, I had (self-diagnosed) stress fractures in both my feet and a disinterest
in training anymore. Two weeks later, after countless meals of celebration and
no physical activity, I found myself right back where I started physically.
Bummer. But something interesting happened after I walked down the aisle. I
didn’t really care anymore. I thought I would be so insecure about how I looked
and what not, but instead, I am more secure in myself now that Rachel is my
wife. Don’t worry dear reader, I am determined not to let myself go like too
many spouses have before. But something happened on our wedding day: when I
died to myself to commit myself to Rachel, so did my bodily self-awareness. Now
I dance more, I don’t care what I wear, and I have a swooped to the side
haircut known as my “married hair”. Life
is quite dandy when you are accepted for who you are by the ones you love most;
first God, now Rachel. My goal now is to make my beautiful bride feel the same
way.
Dreamland
Yes, life is quite wonderful right now. I am making sure to enjoy
this phase of life because I have heeded the warnings that it won’t always be
this easy. There is a season for laughter and a season for mourning, and I am
most certainly in the former. But I know how quickly seasons can change and
Rachel and I will rejoice in season and out of season. If you’ve made it this
far in this meager self-reflection, know that all is well in the Eaton
household. God is good. He always is. But lately, He has been one-upping
himself about every day.
To the single, do not awaken love until is so desires.
To the engaged, hold on, because the best is yet to come.
To the married, we are now part of your private club… let’s
get lunch.
To the divorced, no human love ever compares to God’s great
love for you. Delight in the best; you don’t need the rest.